Server Environment

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Hosted Exchange Environment

Our Exchange environment is built for constant uptime and the highest reliability. Using the latest Microsoft best practices for running Exchange, the system includes complete redundancy – with no single points of failure – across our network, servers and data connectivity. In fact, our hosted Exchange is far more robust than the email servers at many major corporations.

Data Center Environment

The datacenter is equipped with the latest environmental control units that give a 100% SLA-guaranteed temperature and humidity within a certain range. It also uses the most advanced fire-suppression systems available. The datacenter has an 18-inch raised floor and is zone 4 certified for earthquakes.

Power

With main power supplied by Silicon Valley Power, ranked in the top-quartile nationally in reliability, our class-A data center is designed for N+1 redundancy and is equipped with redundant power feeds, HiTEC uninterruptible power supply systems and back-up diesel generator power. This gives a guaranteed 99.99% availability for power.

Servers and Storage

Our Exchange servers are based on a passive-active cluster server configuration to provide seamless failover when a cluster node is unavailable or is taken offline for maintenance. Redundant and load-balanced Exchange front-end servers also increase reliability.

Your data resides on a storage area network (SAN) by EMC, the premiere storage brand. With total redundancy – clusters of disks in a RAID array – if one should fail, the system continues working. Intra-SAN and tape back-ups ensure there is no single point of failure anywhere in the storage system.

Network

Our highly-resilient network has two diverse network entry points which manage traffic flow to the Internet, with another dedicated high-speed link to a separate California location. That second location itself has a failover link to a third location nearby for ultimate uptime in connectivity.

Traffic inside the Exchange environment is managed by Cisco routers and switches, with HP rack distribution switches. An advanced Netscreen firewall protects the ASC Exchange infrastructure, with all ports closed except for essential ones and 100% of incoming traffic monitored by anti-spam and anti-virus applications.

24x7 Monitoring

Exchange servers are monitored 24x7 using a comprehensive and state-of-the-art MOM management system. This allows immediate detection of both potential and actual issues, which are tackled by our multiple technicians – on standby, day and night. MOM looks at a full range of metrics, including CPU, memory and disk space utilization, the size of the mail queues, the status of Outlook Web Access (OWA), different Exchange-related ports and RPC latency.